The present invention generally relates to safety belt systems and more particularly to a three-point system that is specifically designed for use with both an adult and a child.
Safety seats or booster seats are available for infants and small children, the larger sized child will sit in a passenger seat. Occasionally an adult may permit the child to sit in a front seat; in this situation some children have placed the shoulder belt behind their back. Obviously, the latter position diminishes any benefit that could be derived from the shoulder belt. In cars equipped with an air bag the child who is not restrained or who is improperly restrained is a potential an out-of-position occupant. The proposed system can improve the performance of a restraint system by reducing the likelihood of a seated child being out of position during air bag deployment.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved child restraint system.
Accordingly the invention comprises: an improved three-point seat belt restraint system wherein one of the restraint points is a first web guide which defines the angle at which the seat belt crosses the upper torso of a seated occupant and through which a seat belt is received, the improvement comprising first means for lowering the restraint point to permit a belt to cross the upper torso of a seated child at a determined angle. In one embodiment of the invention the first means includes a second web guide for selectively receiving the seat belt and for adjusting the departure angle from the restraint point across the seated child wherein this second web guide comprises an open loop therein to receive a shoulder belt portion of the seat belt. This open loop can be attached to the vehicle's B-pillar or to the seat. In another embodiment a height adjuster is provided wherein the length of a track extends from a height above the shoulder height of an identifiable seated adult to a height below the height of an identifiable seated child.
Many other objects and purposes of the invention will be clear from the following detailed description of the drawings.